Continued Optimism at Close of Year
Maryland firms remained optimistic about future growth in the fourth quarter. Seventy-two percent of responding firms surveyed reported that they expect the market for their products and services to expand in 2019, with only 2 percent expecting a market contraction. It is important to note that this survey was conducted before the federal government shutdown.
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Seventy-four percent of firms surveyed expected to see an increase in their sales in the coming year, while 2 percent expected their revenues to decline, up from 69 percent of firms expecting revenue growth in the third quarter.
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Fifty-three percent of the businesses surveyed expected to increase their employment in the coming year, while 2 percent expected that their employment will decline, on pace with the 55 percent of firms expecting to add jobs reported in the third quarter of 2018.
Figure 3: Revenues - Coming Year
Figure 4: Employment - Coming Year
